Largest Shipping Container Ever in North America Will Dock at Port of L.A.

The largest shipping container to ever hit North America will be docking at the Port of Los Angeles later this month. It’s one-third larger than any of the containers to ever hit San Pedro Bay and comes at a time when California’s ports are experiencing high trading volume, especially with e-commerce continuing to rise.

The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin is scheduled to hit the port on Dec. 26 and has a carrying capacity of 18,000 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units, which is 4,000 TFEUs more than the previous largest container the port accepted. 

These “ultra large container vessels” have been arriving to Europe and Asia in recent years. The Los Angeles Port recently resolved issues of a work slowdown and congestion, so the arrival of this ship shows the port “is prepared for the next phase of modern trade,” according to Port Executive Director Gene Seroka